


Deliver Us From Evil

by rusty_armour



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-24
Updated: 2009-11-24
Packaged: 2017-10-03 17:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusty_armour/pseuds/rusty_armour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scully gains some firsthand knowledge of the thread of evil when things start to fall apart after the Jeb Dukes case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deliver Us From Evil

** "You know, when I first came to work at the FBI, I worked at Violent Crimes. I saw the worst of humanity, I saw monsters, and I wondered how they became that way, how these men became so evil. I know there were psychological explanations, victims of their parents, but the scientific explanations were never truly satisfying.**

**"I began to think of evil like a disease, you know, that goes from man to man, age to age. Most of us go around thinking that we're incapable of any acts of evil, and we are, and we can stifle that momentary urge to kill or to hurt. We have some kind of immunity to it. But I think it's possible that there's an...occurrence in somebody's life, a tragedy or a loss that leaves them vulnerable, hurts their immunity to evil and, all of a sudden, at that point in their lives, when they're weakened, they're open to evil and can become evil." **

_The grass was cool and soft beneath her feet, the blades tickling her toes. She walked under the canopy of a large apple tree. The pretty white blossoms obscured the sky like clouds, yet the sun still poked its glowing face through the leaves, the light sparkling like diamonds. Scully lifted her own face to the sky and revelled in the warmth that bathed her skin._

_Suddenly she was in a meadow full of tulips and daffodils. Bright red and yellow petals bobbed in the wind. She stooped down to pick some when she saw a man and a woman coming towards her. The woman was pushing a baby carriage and cooing softly to the occupant inside._

_"Oh, what a beautiful doll," cried Scully as the couple stopped beside her. It had bright yellow hair, green eyes with tiny eyelashes, and freckles painted on its nose._

_"Why, thank you," said the woman. "You have a beautiful doll too."_

_Scully looked down and realized that she was holding the doll Mulder had given her. She smiled in delight, stroking the black hair and pretty blue dress. When she looked up the couple was gone. Scully shrugged and started walking through the meadow._

_As Scully waded through the tulips and daffodils, and occasionally picked a flower, she met more people carrying dolls. Some held delicate china dolls or dolls with eyes that blinked open and shut. Some even carried floppy dolls that looked like Raggedy Ann. There seemed to be hundreds of different dolls. Scully couldn't remember seeing so many before in her life._

_"That's a beautiful doll," stated a voice. Scully started and turned around. A woman in a black Victorian gown and veil had crept silently behind her._

_"Who are you? What do you want?" demanded Scully, dropping her flowers and clutching her doll tightly._

_The lady reached up with gloved hands and lifted the veil. "Hi, Dana!" she chirped cheerfully._

_"Agent Reyes!" exclaimed Scully in surprise. She studied her carefully. "Uh, do you have a doll too?"_

_"No, but Agent Doggett does. We're looking for it. Want to help us find it?"_

_"Sure. That'll be fun," said Scully._

_Reyes lifted the hem of her gown with one hand and offered the other one to Scully._

_They walked for a long time. Scully was sad when they left the meadow of tulips and daffodils. She would have liked to stay longer. However, Reyes had explained to her that they had to leave the meadow if they were going to help Doggett, so Scully continued to follow her._

_They reached a large, crumbling wall. Scully ran her hands along the rough stones. Soon she found a door that wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she pushed and pulled. She looked at Reyes, who was fussing with her black lace gloves._

_"I can't open it," said Scully._

_"Yes, you can, Dana. Try again."_

_Scully stared at Reyes and then stared at the door, focusing on it determinedly. Then she laid her hand against the door. It creaked open and Scully stepped back in surprise. Reyes stepped through, dragging a somewhat reluctant Scully across the threshold._

_"I don't like it here," said Scully, eyeing the overcast sky with trepidation, but Reyes wouldn't let go of her hand._

_The grass wasn't cool and soft. There was no grass at all, only dirt and rocks. And maybe treasure, thought Scully, as they approached a man in a suit, who was kneeling and digging frantically with both hands. He looked up when they stopped in front of him, his blue eyes wide and frightened._

_"I can't find him," said Doggett._

_Reyes crouched beside him and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll help you find your dolly. We just have to look a little harder."_

_"But I've looked everywhere, Monica. I can't find him anywhere!"_

_"We'll find him," said Reyes firmly. "You keep looking around here. I'll try over there," she added, pointing to a spot several feet away._

_"What should I do?" asked Scully, but neither Reyes nor Doggett seemed to hear her. Scully watched helplessly as both agents dug up the earth. Reyes' delicate lace gloves were quickly becoming caked with dirt. Doggett's hands were bleeding. Scully hugged her doll to her chest tightly._

_"I found it!" cried Reyes. "I found it!"_

_Doggett was on his feet in an instant and running towards Reyes. Reyes beamed and, with a sharp tug, pulled the filthy ragged doll from the ground. She held it up for Doggett, who froze as soon as he saw it._

_"That's not him. He doesn't look anything like that."_

_"Of course it's your dolly. Don't be silly, John."_

_Doggett shook his head and started to back away as Reyes rose and approached him with it._

_"No, that's not him."_

_"Well, really! Just because it's a little dirty, you don't want it anymore."_

_"He's not my son!"_

_Reyes glared at him then looked down at the doll. "My goodness. You're right. I'm terribly sorry. What could I have been thinking?" Reyes dashed over to the place where she had found the doll and started digging again. Doggett turned away and put his head in his hands._

_"I'm sure she'll find him, Agent Doggett," said Scully, trying to offer some words of comfort. "It'll be okay."_

_He couldn't hear her._

_"John, I've found him," said Reyes, after what seemed like a century had passed._

_Doggett raised his head and both he and Scully turned around. Reyes was cradling a dead boy in her arms. _

  


* * * * 

  
"NO!" cried Scully, sitting up in her bed. Her door burst open, and an alarmed A.D. Skinner leapt into the room. Scully stared at him in surprise, then gazed slowly around the room, taking in her surroundings.

Skinner laid a hand on her arm. "Scully, are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. I just had a dream...a nightmare, I guess."

"About your baby?"

"No...not exactly." Scully looked at Skinner again. "Sir, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh..." Skinner looked embarrassed. "I came to check on you. I must have fallen asleep on the couch."

"Fallen asleep on the...Where's Mulder?"

"He must have got bored of watching me sleep and went to see Agent Reyes in the hospital."

"Agent Reyes is in the hospital? Why? Since when?"

"Last night. I only know because I went to visit you this morning and found Agent Reyes there instead. She was attacked last night - inside the hospital itself, apparently. I don't know the whole story. Agent Doggett was pretty sketchy on the details and, as he looked like hell himself, I didn't push it. I told him to go home and get some sleep. I don't think he listened to me..."

Scully pulled back her blankets and swung her feet to the floor.

"Dana, it's not serious. They think she might have a concussion, that's all."

"I want to see her...and Agent Doggett," said Scully, rising to her feet. Skinner's hand was on her arm again, and Scully wondered if it was meant to steady her or restrain her.

"You just got out of the hospital yourself. The only place you should be going is back to bed."

"I've had more than enough sleep, which is more than can be said for you," commented Scully, studying Skinner's rumpled clothing and the circles under his eyes. No wonder he had crashed on the couch.

"You're changing the subject, Agent Scully."

"No...no, I'm not. I just really think you should get some sleep, sir."

"You mean you'd like me to go home, so you can sneak off to the hospital." Scully said nothing, only stared back at Skinner defiantly. Skinner sighed. "If you're so determined to go, will you at least let me drive you?"

  


* * * * 

  
Special Agent Scully and Assistant Director Skinner had just reached the nursing station when Skinner's cell phone rang.

"Damn," Skinner muttered as he fumbled in his pocket for the phone. Scully retrieved it for him, and Skinner smiled at her before answering. Scully had just found out what room Reyes had been admitted to when Skinner ended his call. He looked at Scully, the guilt apparent on his face.

"Agent Scully..."

"It's okay," said Scully. "I can catch a ride with Mulder." Skinner shook his head. "No, I can't catch a ride with Mulder?"

"That was Mulder who just called. Kersh called him in for a meeting about half an hour ago. Now it would seem that the Deputy Director would like to see me as well."

"Oh. Well, I'll call a cab or ask Agent Doggett to drive me home."

"If Mulder wasn't in such a precarious position right now - "

Scully lifted her hand. "Sir, it's fine. Really. Besides, I'd rather have you at this meeting to keep an eye on Mulder. He hasn't exactly been very...uh..."

"I'll keep an eye on him, Agent Scully." Skinner patted her shoulder then headed back to the parking lot. Scully went off in search of Reyes' room. Soon she was knocking on the door.

"Just a minute," came a muffled voice from inside the room. After a brief pause the voice said, "Come in."

"Hi, Agent Reyes. As soon as I knocked on your door, I realized that I'd forgotten to get you a card or flowers. I guess being a recent patient here myself, I - " Scully trailed off when she saw Reyes' red eyes and what had been a hasty attempt to wipe tears from her cheeks.

"Dana, you shouldn't be here. You should be home resting."

"That's all I _have_ been doing lately: resting," answered Scully with a twitch of her lips. "For the sake of my sanity, I could use a little action...even if it just means paying another visit to the hospital. May I sit?"

"What? Oh, yes, of course!" Reyes was on the verge of leaping out of bed to find the pregnant woman a chair.

"Stay! I've got it." Scully found a plastic chair in the corner of the room and dragged it over to the bed.

Reyes cringed. "You shouldn't be doing that!"

"Agent Reyes, I'm pregnant not incapacitated!" Nevertheless, Scully lowered herself into the chair almost gingerly.

"How are you doing?" asked Scully.

Reyes forced a smile. "They say I can leave soon. My head's fine." Reyes flicked her gaze away from the other agent when she could no longer stand the scrutiny of Scully's intense blue eyes.

"You're _not_ fine, Agent Reyes. Something's bothering you. What is it?" There was a long pause as Reyes continued to study her hands. "It's Agent Doggett, isn't it?"

Reyes' eyes leapt up. She was trying to fight back tears. "I screwed up," she whispered. "Big time."

"How?" demanded Scully, leaning forward a bit.

"I forced John to deal with...some things he wasn't ready to deal with." Reyes sighed and touched the spot on her head where Katha Dukes had hit her. "He told me when we were looking for Mulder that I should leave the past in the past, but I didn't listen. I wanted him to see the connections so badly, to push past his fear and allow himself to believe. Now I wish he didn't."

"But if he knows the truth how can that be bad?" said Scully, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Reyes leaned back against her pillows wearily and closed her eyes. "The nurse on duty told me that John spent most of the night outside of Katha Dukes's room, just standing there and staring at her through the window. When I called him on it, he denied everything. He said he had only been there for a few minutes. I sensed he was lying...and I sensed something else..."

"What?"

"I...I'm not sure. He was working hard to hide it - whatever it was." Reyes rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms.

"Where is Agent Doggett now? Do you know?"

Reyes shook her head. "He could have gone home, gone to the office, gone to get drunk...or he could be standing outside of Katha Dukes's hospital room again, trying to figure out if she killed his son."

Scully winced inwardly. "Because of...because of this thread of evil?" she asked tentatively. Reyes nodded and swallowed uncomfortably. Scully reached across the bed and took her hand. "I told Agent Doggett once that the truth can hurt but that, in the end, it's all we have."

"The truth," echoed Reyes, sounding mildly contemptuous. "I haven't given him 'the truth'. I've only succeeded in plaguing his mind with more fears and questions. He-he had found some peace or, at least, he was dealing with Luke's death the best way - the only way - he could."

"Don't you think he deserves more than that?" said Scully quietly.

"Of course I do! I...I just don't think he can handle the kind of truth I've given him."

"Well, he's...he's just going to have to learn to live with it, isn't he?"

Reyes smiled at Scully sadly. "I think he will learn...the hard way."

Scully stared at the other agent, the hairs on the back of her neck beginning to tingle. "What exactly are you saying, Agent Reyes?"

Reyes was staring at the wall or, rather through it, as if she could see what was happening beyond it. "He thinks he failed his son because he couldn't bring him home safe...couldn't allow himself to see the _other_ possibilities. Well, Mulder and I helped him to see the 'possibilities,' to understand the connections. We've given him everything he needs."

"Needs? To do what?" asked Scully nervously.

"To catch his son's killer."

Scully released Reyes' hand and managed to lift herself from the plastic chair with surprising speed for a pregnant woman. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" she demanded angrily.

Reyes finally tore her eyes from the wall, blinking at Scully as if she had just emerged from a dream. "What?" said Reyes. Scully's eyes widened and she moved quickly towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Agent Doggett."

"I was going to ask Mulder to find him," stated Reyes with a yawn, "but then Deputy Director Kersh called and - "

"I know. It's okay."

"I tried to find him myself, but they made me go back to bed. Then they gave me something. I don't think it's working, though," said Reyes, her eyelids beginning to droop.

_And I thought Mulder and Doggett made lousy patients_. "Agent Reyes, you need to rest. I'll look after Doggett."

"Promise?"

"Yes. It's time I watched his back."

  


* * * * 

  
After another visit to the nursing station, Agent Scully was walking quickly to Katha Dukes's room. She was so sure that she would find Doggett standing outside it, that she almost missed the room completely. She had moved a few feet past it before she discovered her mistake and double backed.

She plopped down gratefully in one of the chairs that lined the corridor and decided to wait a few minutes in case Doggett returned. A little rest wouldn't hurt either, she decided. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment.

She was relieved that Doggett wasn't here and annoyed at Reyes for scaring her. She knew that Reyes had the best intentions in the world when it came to Doggett, or just about anyone for that matter, but she wondered if that prediction had really been a drug-induced hallucination. There was also the fact that Agent Reyes may have allowed her judgment to be clouded. She and Doggett shared a close bond: human tragedy tended to have that affect on people.

Scully smiled and shook her head. She was hardly the right person to lecture on the subject of objectivity considering her own bond with Mulder. She was so involved in his life that she sometimes had trouble recognizing herself unless Mulder was standing beside her.

Scully glanced at her watch then glanced down the hall again. Still no sign of Doggett. Maybe Reyes had been wrong. Maybe Doggett had gone home and put himself and his past to rest. And maybe he had started believing in aliens and flying saucers while he was at it.

She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called Doggett's number. The phone rang but there was no answer. She was about to end the call when she realized something: she could hear another phone ringing.

She looked around but there was no one in sight. Where the hell was that sound coming from?

Scully rose to her feet awkwardly, still clutching the phone to her ear. She almost fell back down again when the truth hit her: the sound was coming from inside Katha Dukes's hospital room.

Her legs were shaking and she was holding the phone so tightly that her fingers had started to cramp. Then the ringing stopped. Scully rushed to the door of Katha Dukes's room and pressed her face to the window.

She almost had to stand on tiptoe to peek inside. At first, she only saw a woman strapped down on a bed. Then, as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she spotted Agent Doggett standing in the corner of the room. He held something in his hand. It wasn't his cell phone.

"Agent Doggett!" yelled Scully, pounding on the door. "Agent Doggett!"

He didn't even blink. Katha Dukes had his full attention. Scully watched in horror as Doggett made his way slowly towards the bed.

"No! Doggett, don't do it!" Scully pounded on the door again, even kicked it in her fear and frustration. Then she looked down at the doorknob. She placed her hand on it, fully expecting it to be locked. It opened.

Scully burst into the room just as Doggett was raising his gun. Without a moment of conscious thought, she threw herself in front of Katha Dukes, almost toppling over on the bed in the process.

At first, Doggett stared at her in sheer disbelief. He couldn't seem to understand how, let alone why, she was there. Then his eyes turned colder as the full magnitude of Scully's act registered in his mind. Scully tried desperately to read the expression on his face. Was he feeling hurt? Betrayed? Angry?

"Get out," he hissed.

"Put the gun down, Agent Doggett," Scully pleaded gently. She took a step towards him.

"Stay back!" he barked.

"And what will you do if I don't? Shoot me?" Scully regretted the statement the moment it left her mouth. Way to go, Dana. You're facing a man with a gun, who just happens to be in the middle of a breakdown, and you're egging him on. She held her breath as his hands began to tremble.

"Just go, Scully. Please," Doggett said hoarsely.

"I can't. You know that."

"If you leave now, no one has to know you were here," continued Doggett in the same low desperate tone. "Go home and pretend you never saw me."

Scully shook her head adamantly. "Not a chance in hell, Agent Doggett."

"Dammit, Scully, you owe me!"

"Yes, I know that," whispered Scully, trying to speak around the lump in her throat. "That's why I'm doing this." She held out her hand, trying again. "Give me the gun."

"NO!" shouted Doggett, gripping the gun even tighter, despite his shaking hands. "I'm warning you, Scully. Get out now or I'll tie you up and stick you in the closet!"

"You'd need both hands for that, which would mean putting down the gun," said Scully. "It would also mean wrestling a pregnant woman to the ground. Are you prepared to do that, Agent Doggett? Because that's what it's going to take."

Doggett took a deep breath, and Scully could see that he was counting in his head, trying to control his temper.

"Why are you doing this to me?" demanded Doggett. "What the hell did I do to deserve this?"

"You watched my back, saved me, and helped me get through the worst time in my life. You've done everything to deserve this and, as you say, I 'owe' you."

Doggett stared at Scully, seemingly at a loss for words. "If...if that's true," he said at last, "and you really believe you owe me, you'd respect my wishes and go."

"And let you kill this woman?" asked Scully.

"Yes! It's my right! I've earned it!"

"You have no right to kill her or anybody, Doggett! God, do you have any idea what you're saying?" Scully advanced towards him again, and Doggett took a step back.

"Don't judge me," said Doggett. "Don't you dare judge me! You're not a part of this. You don't understand."

"Then help me understand. Explain it to me, Doggett." Scully sat down on the bed and crossed her arms. She wasn't leaving or giving up and she wanted to make damn sure Doggett knew that. Doggett lifted his eyes to the ceiling as if he was appealing to some higher power to intervene. When he met her eyes again, Scully could see that he was holding back tears.

"She's evil, Scully. There's...something inside of her. It...it killed my son."

"The thread of evil," said Scully.

Doggett's mouth fell open. "You know? How? Mulder?"

Scully nodded, barely trusting herself to speak.

"Then you gotta understand. You gotta see why I need to do this."

"It won't bring him back."

"I'm not stupid - I know that!"

"Then think about what's at stake, Doggett. You'll go to prison. You'll lose everything."

Doggett smiled at her sadly. "I've got nothing left to lose. Even if I did, it would still be worth it. If I can stop someone else from dying..." Now his voice was shaking, not just his hands. It took time but he managed to gain control of his emotions. "Agent Reyes said that there were these connections. She said we both saw the things we saw - the visions - for a reason. Well, I think this is the reason. This...this is what I'm meant to do."

"And what about your little boy? Do you think this is what he'd want you to do?"

"Don't! Don't go there," begged Doggett.

Scully stood and Doggett started to move back, despite the fact that he was the one with the gun.

"Do you think your little boy would want to see his father in prison?" said Scully.

"Stop it! You don't know anything!" Doggett looked around frantically. He had quite literally backed himself against a wall. Scully didn't stop advancing until she was directly in front of him.

His voice shook again. "Please..."

Scully could feel a tear scalding her cheek, but she couldn't afford to show mercy, no matter how much it hurt him. She had told Mulder he was worth the effort, and he was.

"If you shoot Katha Dukes, you'll become the thing that killed your son," she whispered.

Doggett gasped as if Scully had hit him. The gun clattered to the floor, and the mask finally crumbled. He put his face in his hands and slid down the wall. Scully moved down to the floor with him, placing an arm around his shoulders.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

Scully wrapped her other arm around him and pulled him into an awkward embrace. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

"I don't know what I'm doing or who I am anymore!"

Scully said nothing, only pulled Doggett closer. She guided his head to her shoulder, stroking his hair lightly.

"God, I almost killed her," said the muffled voice from her shoulder. "I almost killed a helpless woman strapped to a bed and drugged to the eyeballs!"

"But you didn't."

"Only because you stopped me!"

"You would have done the same for me."

Doggett laughed but it was a mirthless, hollow sound. "You? That would never happen."

"Don't be so sure. If it had been my child, I...Well, I don't know what I would have done."

Doggett lifted his head, just meeting her eyes. His face was paler, the expression strained. Scully fought the urge to brush the tears from his cheeks.

"I didn't mean to do it," said Doggett, his voice barely above a whisper. "One minute I was just standing there and the next minute I was opening the door and walking in. It was like...like..." He shook his head.

"Tell me."

"No. No, I...I can't." He broke away from her, but not before Scully felt his body shudder.

"Something drew you into the room, some kind of...force," said Scully.

Doggett stared at Scully in alarm. "How the hell - ?"

"How did you get in here when the door was locked?"

"I..." Doggett sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I haven't a damn clue."

"Well, that makes two of us because I haven't a 'damn clue' as to how I got in here either."

Doggett groaned. "Ah, please don't say that, Agent Scully."

Scully squeezed his shoulder gently. "I don't think you're really in the mood to hear any of my theories right now, Agent Doggett."

"Try me," he answered stubbornly.

Scully smiled slightly. "Maybe later, after we've both had some sleep."

"Oh, no, you're not getting out of it that easily. I - Oh, my God! Scully, you shouldn't be sitting on the floor! You shouldn't even be out of bed! What the hell were you thinking?"

Scully opened her mouth to protest, but Doggett was already pulling her off the ground.

"Agent Doggett - "

Doggett guided her to a chair on the other side of the room. Scully doubted that he would have ever set her on the bed, even if she had collapsed completely.

"Mulder is going to kill me when he finds out about this," said Doggett.

"Who says he has to find out? I wasn't going to tell him, so unless you plan on saying anything - "

"Well, he'll know about it once you file your report."

"What report?" asked Scully.

Doggett looked down at her sternly. "I tried to kill a woman, Agent Scully. You've got to file a report."

"No, I don't. I wasn't here, remember?"

"Like hell you weren't!"

"Agent Doggett, I think there were definitely some extenuating circumstances here. You weren't exactly...yourself."

"Oh, I see. I was infected by Evil, was I?" he snapped sarcastically.

"Well, for lack of a better explanation, yes. Yes, I believe that you were...affected by Evil at the very least."

"I don't believe this," muttered Doggett to himself.

"That's okay," said Scully. "You don't have to."

Doggett glared at her. "If Kersh or anyone else hears about what happened and then find out you didn't file a report - "

"They won't find out."

"But say they do?"

"Then I guess we'll just deal with that situation the best we can if and when it comes up."

"Scully, this is your career you're putting on the line."

"Well, if you could put yours on hold, I don't see why I can't put mine on the line."

"That was different."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well...uh..."

Scully crossed her arms and waited.

"There was more at stake than just my career. Kersh was planning to shut down the X-Files as soon as you went on maternity leave."

"He could still shut them down if I file a report and you lose your job."

Doggett ran a hand through his hair, lost for a moment. "Mulder!" he countered. "Mulder's back."

"Mulder has been taken off the X-Files, remember?" said Scully.

Doggett sighed and leaned against the wall heavily.

"Let's face it, Agent Doggett. We need each other. You can't be everybody else's shoulder all the time. Let me help you. Let me be the one to stick my neck out for once," said Scully.

Doggett stared at her for a long time. Scully didn't flinch under his gaze.

"I don't like this," said Doggett.

"I know you don't, but I'm still not going to file that report, Agent Doggett."

"And you're really not going to tell anybody about this...not even Mulder?"

Scully smiled. "No, not even Mulder."

"I...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Just go home and get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed quietly, turning to leave there and then.

"Before you go, there's actually a favour you can do for me, Agent Doggett," added Scully quickly.

"Anything."

"Uh...could you help me get out of this chair? I appear to be stuck."

Doggett broke into a grin, the first real smile Scully had witnessed from him in days. "Sure thing, Agent Scully," he answered. He walked to the chair and, bracing her by the elbows, he maneuvered her back to her feet.

Scully straightened her clothing and began to walk away. She stopped when she realized that Doggett wasn't following her. He was standing frozen in front of a mirror. He obviously wasn't happy about what he saw.

"Uh...Agent Scully, would you mind if I...?"

"Go ahead," said Scully gently.

Doggett disappeared inside the tiny washroom, and Scully instantly heard the tap running. Scully walked to the door and peeked out the window. She ducked quickly and pressed herself against the wall when she spotted a doctor walking past. Fortunately, he didn't see her.

Scully was surprised that they hadn't been caught by one of the members of the hospital staff. It would certainly be interesting trying to explain how they had snuck into the room when they didn't know the answer themselves.

She stared at the door. Was the lock broken or could someone have just forgotten to lock it in the first place? She returned to the door and reached out to touch the doorknob. She felt the hairs tingle on the back of her neck before her brain had even processed what she was seeing. There was a tiny set of fingerprints on the doorknob, glowing faintly in the darkened room. She turned slowly towards the washroom.

"Agent Doggett..."

"Yeah?" Doggett stepped out, his appearance only slightly improved after his brief sojourn in the washroom.

Scully glanced at the door again. The fingerprints were gone.

"I...uh...I think we should get out of here before someone sees us."

Doggett rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully, a smile just tugging at the corners of his lips. "This would be kinda hard to explain, wouldn't it?" He looked quickly outside. "Well, the coast is clear. We'd better get going while the going's good." He wrapped his hand around the doorknob. Then there was a strange expression on his face.

"Agent Doggett?" Scully placed a hand on his arm.

"I...I just felt...strange for a second. I guess I'm just tired." He shook his head as if trying to clear it then proceeded to open the door. "Ladies first."

"Thank you," said Scully, slipping past him. He would have to be a gentleman and allow her to exit first, she thought. Of course, from this vantage point, he was in an excellent position to watch her back, a duty he had taken seriously from the very beginning.

As the door clicked shut, Scully remembered the tiny fingerprints she had seen and smiled. It was good to know that, for once, someone had been watching his back too.

**Author's Note:**

> I've read some wonderful post-ep fic for Empedocles and decided to finally pen the story that has been rattling around in my head since...well...since I first saw "Empedocles"! I just didn't think Doggett would be able to let the case drop that easily or be satisfied with the kind of answers he received from Mulder and Reyes, especially in light of their views on evil and that intense stare he directed at Katha Dukes at the end of the episode...
> 
> © 2001


End file.
